Chapter 59: Fraternity in Action – Join and Take the Plunge!

Epic!

A fervent legend!

Chen Xiao blurted out these words.

The pioneer of online gaming, Legend.

It was either in 2000 or 2001 when Shanda, a company from the Bamboo Stick Kingdom, entered Xia Kingdom and quickly gained nationwide popularity. It became the most widespread game in the country within a short span of time.

With the popularity of this game, terms like private servers and hacks became part of people's vocabulary.

Ever since the rise of Legend, online gaming in Xia Country enjoyed over a decade of prosperity.

Prior to Chen Xiao's rebirth, Legend had already faded into the annals of history's dust. He hadn't played it, but he had experienced a widely popular web game.

This web game went by various names depending on the agents, but there was a familiar catchphrase:

"Greetings, everyone, I'm Zha Zhahui. If you're a bro, come challenge me!"

Before his rebirth, Chen Xiao wondered how a game with rudimentary graphics could attract countless celebrity endorsements and draw hordes of wealthy middle-aged people. He had pondered how a web-based game with unimpressive aesthetics could lead to hundreds of millions of monthly turnovers for smaller servers, with even some "local tyrants" spending tens of millions on it.

And now, as Chen Xiao watched Brother Dao and his friends engrossed in gaming, he found his answer.

This web game's predecessor was "Legend". Those who initially played "Legend" over twenty years ago had since grown up, with many of them coming from well-to-do backgrounds.

Amidst their busy and greasy middle-aged lives, these individuals didn't have the time or energy to adapt to newer online games. When they were in their offices or at home, free from their bosses or spouses, they'd open a web page, slay monsters, collect equipment, and experience the joy they yearned for since childhood.

Emotions and memories were priceless.

Chen Xiao's heartbeat quickened.

During the time before the law had established the concept of hacks and server copyrights, Chen Xiao found his chance to make a fortune.

This time, as long as Chen Xiao could seize this opportunity, the 11181 website would have the chance to reach the level of hao123 or 2345 before his rebirth.

"Brother Dao," Chen Xiao bought a few cans of Coke and handed them to Brother Dao and his friends. He asked deliberately, "What game are you all playing?"

Daozi was delighted to see Chen Xiao, "Xiaozi, why haven't you been playing games during winter vacation? I thought you were rolling in money!"

Originally, Chen Xiao had planned to take Shen Wei to an internet cafe for a visit during the winter vacation, but due to everyone's busy schedules, it didn't pan out.

Daozi turned to the chubby guy beside him, "Ma Jun, give Xiaozi a chance to play a few rounds."

Hearing Brother Dao's words, Chen Xiao felt a chill down his spine: "..."

Fatty was Knife's younger brother, so he quickly stood up to give Chen Xiao his Coke.

Chen Xiao took a seat and noticed that Ma Jun had chosen a mage. They were all engrossed in playing Sha City.

The characters' names on the screen and the absurd names of the weapons strewn on the ground left Chen Xiao feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Brother Dao explained, "Xiaozi, this is Legend. Shengda Games suddenly became popular before the Spring Festival. Everyone is playing it! Online games are much more exciting than Red Alert and Half-Life!"

Brother Dao continued, "Just follow me and give it a try! Fatty, tell Brother Xiao how to use the skills!"

As they progressed through the game, everyone was mechanically killing monsters and completing tasks to level up.

Chen Xiao found it quite boring. He preferred strategy games like "Civilization 6" and "Total War" from his later years, as well as games with high levels of freedom like "GTA5" and competitive games from the "FIFA" and "NBA 2K" series. The simple logic of monster-slaying and equipment-upgrading didn't interest him.

However, it was different for the others, especially Knife. Slaying monsters and killing enemies filled them with an electrifying thrill and excitement that the real world could never offer. Not to mention the satisfaction of achievement.

After about an hour of play, Chen Xiao was already feeling dizzy. He got up and let Fatty take over.

Fatty was eager to get his hands on the mouse and keyboard, ready to dive in.

Meanwhile, Brother Dao and the others continued their relentless pursuit of monsters.

The boss of the dimly lit internet cafe was grinning ear to ear. Since the legendary game had arrived at the internet cafe, his business had been thriving, with queues forming day and night. He even boasted of having a lineup for surfing the internet that stretched around the clock.

Boss Li, the owner of the internet cafe, said to Chen Xiao, "Don't worry, I've ordered ten new computers here. They'll be installed next week. When we have enough computers, you won't have to wait in line to play anymore."

Chen Xiao smiled but didn't respond.

He observed the gameplay for a while before heading home.

On Sunday, Chen Xiao asked Chen Qiang to install dial-up internet access at home, claiming that he needed online access to check information for his studies.

Chen Xiao's academic performance was excellent, and Chen Qiang was eager to indulge his son, so he activated dial-up internet access on the very same day. However, the telecommunications department said it would take a week to fully connect to the internet.

For the next week, after classes, Chen Xiao headed to the internet cafe to play Legend using various new accounts he'd created.

His goal was to become familiar with the game content and understand player preferences as quickly as possible.

After some exploration, Chen Xiao had a solid grasp of the game mechanics.

Once back home, Chen Xiao began writing a C++ script for his hack.

The main focus of this hack was to assist players in leveling up and completing tasks.

In fact, the core desires of Legend players were quite simple.

They wanted to acquire the best equipment, engage in player versus player combat, and participate in dungeon raids. All the monotonous leveling tasks and monster farming took up the majority of players' time.

Chen Xiao's hack was straightforward—it would automatically help players level up, complete main tasks, and farm monsters.

When a player's health and mana bars were low, the hack would automatically use healing items. If the player ran out of such items, they would automatically return to the city.

Additionally, while farming monsters, the hack would automatically guide players to areas with a high likelihood of dropping top-tier equipment, giving them a chance to acquire powerful gear while grinding.

With these goals in mind, Chen Xiao set to work on the hack.

This was much more challenging than writing motherboard programs. It took Chen Xiao an entire week to create and perfect the hack.

Next came the testing phase.

Chen Xiao first activated the hack, then logged into Legend using his account. The level 10 rookie character began automatically farming experience points.

In less than a night, the rookie character had reached level 15, obtained some rare equipment, but there were still minor bugs in the hack.

For instance, when health and mana were depleted, the hack didn't automatically replenish them.

Chen Xiao spent a few more days hunting for and ironing out bugs. Eventually, the hack was polished and ready.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before this account became a powerful force in the game.

On Monday morning, Wang Xiang messaged Chen Xiao.

He informed Chen Xiao that Delong VCD had invested 5 million in setting up operations. Currently, most of Delong Electronics' production lines were allocated to Delong VCD, and the company was also planning to invest tens of millions in advertising and distribution channels.

"Why!" Chen Xiao sighed. Delong was still trapped in its historical patterns, choosing to take this route in the end.

Chen Xiao had a question—where was Delong getting so much cash from?